Chargers loss makes one aggressive offseason move look so painfully obvious for them

Even though the Los Angeles Chargers came up short vs. the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football in Week 12, the Bolts are still in a great spot to potentially make the AFC playoffs. Yes, losing the head-to-head tiebreaker to another playoff-viable team in Baltimore is not ideal, but what this loss did was magnify an issue the Chargers have had to navigate all year long: They need more receivers.

In the 30-23 home defeat to Baltimore, Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert threw for 218 yards on 21-of-36 passing. His counterpart Lamar Jackson did not throw the ball a ton, but was far more efficient in his game. Jackson completed 16-of-22 passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran a little bit with eight carries for 15 yards and a rushing touchdown. This was the difference.

What I am getting at is Los Angeles is always going to struggle to score points in games where a shootout is required to get the victory because of their wide receiver corps. Ladd McConkey has been a revelation in his rookie year out of Georgia, while Quentin Johnston is looking more and more like a bust coming out of TCU two years ago. I know just the guy the Chargers will need to target...

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins would do extraordinary things in this Chargers offense.

Los Angeles Chargers should look at signing Tee Higgins in free agency

Higgins has spent his entire pro career out of Clemson with the Bengals. He came into the league alongside Joe Burrow as the Bengals' second-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Higgins has more than had his moments in a Cincinnati uniform, but he was quickly overshadowed by Burrow's college teammate in former LSU standout Ja'Marr Chase coming aboard the following year. This is an issue.

When it came time for the Bengals to pay Higgins what he was worth, they opted to extend him the franchise tag and never budge. Every other player who got slapped with the tag eventually either got the deal they wanted, or was traded to a team who would do right him. The Bengals have and always will do things differently. They march to the beat of their own drum, one that is without a drumstick.

So when I look at a team trying to go from good to great like the Chargers are, I think a player who fills a major positional need still in his prime would be a great target for Los Angeles general manager Joe Hortiz to pursue. It takes two to tango in free agency, but I wonder if Higgins would prefer to go somewhere historically more stable, better yet, not as cheap as the Chargers. He plays in Cincinnati.

Higgins would make the Chargers receiving corps better in theory, but are there better fits out there?